The rest of the day flowed easy. I stuck to the recovery plan, stretched a little, iced the ankle now and then. Dean was cool, mostly sleeping, sometimes staring at me.
In between, I even squeezed in a few games on the Play. So all was well in the universe.
Lumos dipped in the early evening, giving me a little salute on the way out.
"See you soon, Pres."
"Appreciate you, bro."
Later that night, I heard the door open. Parker walked in, coat still on. She looked over and smiled.
"Hey, so… how'd it go?" she asked.
"Yeah, all good. He's chill. Real calm today." I said, giving her a nod.
She glanced toward the bassinet.
"No accidents?"
"No accidents, for real, it was chill, I swear." I said, leaning back on the couch.
She smiled as she took off her coat. "And you? How was your day?" I ask.
She let out a relaxed breath, dropping onto the armrest next to me. "Honestly, today was amazing. It really helped me clear my head. You have no idea how much I needed that."
I looked over at her. She looked peaceful.
We kept talking. She told me about where she'd gone, what she'd seen.
After a while, she stood up. "I'm gonna go put Dean to bed."
"Alright." I said, nodding.
She picked up Dean gently, cradling him with ease now, and disappeared upstairs.
I stayed posted on the couch for a bit.
A few minutes later, I heard her footsteps coming back down. She stepped into the room in her pyjamas, oversized tee, shorts, hair tied back.
I looked at her.
The conversation kept flowing… until it didn't. There was a shift. A glance held a little longer.
She moved closer. I didn't pull away. One thing led to another, slow touches, quiet breaths.
We were kissing, hands exploring.
She got down on her knees, did what she had to do, then it was my turn to please her.
After that I paused, stood up.
"Hold on." I said, heading to the hallway drawer. Grabbed what I needed.
When I came back, she was leaning back on the couch, looking at me. Yeah… we didn't make it to the bedroom at first.
The couch, then the bathroom.
You already know.
Next morning, I was up early. Parker was asleep.
Didn't wanna be late.
I grabbed my gear and dipped.
Back at the facility for training. Light drills, film review, stretch and recovery. Tomorrow's game, we flying out to Portland. Gonna face my guy Dame.
We were deep into practice. Coach let us run some 1v1 drills to keep the energy sharp. Whole squad was into it, laughing, clapping, calling each other out. You know how it goes.
It was my turn. Vooch was in front of me. Everybody circled up. Eyes on us.
"Let's go, Vooch!" someone yelled from the sideline.
He had the ball first. Tried to post me up, use that size. He spun baseline—missed. Brick. I snagged the rebound clean.
Now it was my turn.
I cleared the top of the key, ball in my hand.
I took a hard dribble left… then hit a quick shammgod.
"Oooh!" the squad reacted, voices echoing in the gym.
Vooch bit "Ah." just a second too slow, slid out wide trying to recover.I saw the lane open up like it was waiting for me.
Two steps.
Takeoff.
Boom.
Dunked that.
"YEAHHHHH!" the gym lit up.
"Dirty, bro." Powell laughed from the sideline.
I just jogged back, smirking.
"Y'all better stop testing me like I ain't got that in my bag." I said.
We kept running ones after that. Guys were going at each other, laughs, light trash talk, good competition.
Coach blew the whistle. "Good work. Hit the stretch line."
We circled up, got into our cooldown. Whole gym was calm now.
The next day, we were on the team plane headed to Portland. A few of us were in the back, playing cards. Usual setup. Some snacks, a deck of cards.
"Man, we only got a few games left before the playoffs." Powell said, tossing a glance at the window.
"No lie. Season went fast." I replied, leaning back in my seat.
"You just happy you almost done being a rookie." one of the vets said.
Everyone laughed.
"Facts." Powell said. "Tired of carrying bags and getting donuts."
"By the way, tomorrow's March 15th, March Madness kicks off." Powell said, shuffling the deck.
"Damn… been a minute." I replied, nodding.
Later, we touched down in Oregon. Cold, gray skies, typical Portland.
We made our way off the plane, everyone throwing on hoodies or team jackets. I threw my backpack over one shoulder, sunglasses on.
Team bus was already waiting. We hopped in, low music playing in the background. Couple guys knocked out. Some stared out the window, headphones in.
I sat back and just watched the city roll by.
Eventually, we pulled up to the arena. Moda Center.
We filed into the building.
We started getting changed in the locker room. I stood in front of the mirror, fixing my headband.
'Man… I need a retwist.' I thought, eyeing my locs.
Threw on my warmups, laced up the kicks, and headed out through the tunnel.
Empty seats stared back at me, just a few early fans trickling in.
I grabbed a ball, spun it once in my hands. The feel never got old.
Got into my rhythm, dribbles, pull-up midranges, step-backs.
Swished a three, grabbed the rebound, let it bounce, then launched another one.
Later on, I was back in the locker room. Game time.
I sat at my locker, jersey on now.
A few guys were stretching, others taping up. Coaches walking through, giving out last-minute adjustments.
"Alright, fellas." Coach clapped his hands. "Let's lock in. They like to push the tempo early, so we set the tone. Be physical. Communicate."
I nodded slowly, rolling my shoulders.
Took a breath, stood up. The buzzer from the hallway rang out. Time to line up.
The team huddled up near the tunnel. We shared a couple of words.
And then the doors opened.